21 May 2025 | Nürnberger Nachrichten
anyone who heard the irresistible intensity, immaculate clarity, and stringent lament could feel nothing but profound shock
“… Right from Lili Boulanger’s “D’un matin du printemps,” it becomes clear that the members of the “Trio con Brio Copenhagen” are in a league of their own. They bring pure finesse to the late-Romantic work of the gifted composer Lilli Boulanger, who died at the age of 25, maintaining constant eye contact, setting developments in motion with perfect impulses, and shaping even the finest nuances with their unlimited technical possibilities.
The “youngest” work of the evening is Bent Sørensen’s “Masquerade” for violin, cello, and piano. In the Prélude, Soo-Jin Hong practically creeps up to the dreaming piano with her violin, before Soo-Kyung Hong’s cello steps in as a resolute “game-changer.” The following “Baccarole” is a moored boat rocking on crystal-clear water, portrayed by the trio with total audibility. The pizzicatos in the “Waltz” trickle enchantingly, while the “Chorale” appears as a deep, homogenous meditation. The musicians confidently tame the “Rumba,” which begins with an outburst of anger, while still maintaining the Brazilian heat.
The Dane Per Nørgård (born 1932) is an icon of new music and a fan of metaphysics. His 1973 “Spell” therefore consists of countless elementary musical particles that move simultaneously, constantly transforming in an inexhaustible wealth of motifs, similar to minimal music, and creating truly enchanting sonic beauty. The three virtuosos lead “Spell” to a galactic burst of energy – this is how Per Nørgård envisioned the Big Bang.
The “Trio con Brio Copenhagen” received the German Record Critics’ Award for their recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67, and anyone who heard the irresistible intensity, immaculate clarity, and stringent lament could feel nothing but profound shock. Absolute abandonment resonates from the cello in the Andante, every detail is elaborated in the excessive Allegro ma non troppo, and the piano hangs tons of cobblestones on the soul. In the final Allegretto, one discovers traces of Shostakovich’s Jazz Suite, punctuated by martial pizzicatos that crack like missiles. The trio marches with military stamina, unstoppable, indomitable in its precision, moving in its homogeneity and empathy. No wonder there was a long silence until the audience had regained their composure and was able to shower the musicians with enthusiastic applause.”
Full review in German at: